I read an articles in a gun magazine that tested free floated barrels vs non free floated and found on average of 1/4 inch m.o.a. improvement in accuracy at 100 yards. Does it improve accuracy yes. Is it a big + for accuracy, I would say no. If you can afford the extra cost it is always nice to know you are getting the best out of your rifle but in the end it comes down to the shooter.

I'm a firm believer in free floated barrels. I started using free float tubes on AR's back in the 80's when Olympic arms started selling them. If you're shooting from a rest, it doesn't take that much downward pressure to throw a shot off with a warm barrel. Nearly all of the National Match rifles at Camp Perry have free floated barrels - because free floating really helps! A free floated AR 15 can shock the hell out of a hard core bolt rifle shooter.

the barrel (a good barrel)is more effective on accuracy, than the float tube but the free float tube has more to do with the zero shifting due to sling pressure while shooting positions..so in effect it may still shoot tight groups but not where you want them to be at distance.. B2B

It will be more noticable with a pincil barrel profile, but slinging up tight into an ar15 can change the point of impact quite a bit even if the barrel is properly set up. It just removes a couple varibles that the user can effect a change in point of impact. One of my best shooting barrels was an extra heavy cmp style barrel from eagle arms. It was so heavy that they had to run a groove in the barrel for the gas tube to sit in. You could not sling up tight enough on that barrel to effect accuracy. I also had a mini 14 that you could change the point of impact almost a whole foot at 100yds by slinging up tightly I can see that the free float tube has it's place, but for what most of us use our guns for it is a waste of money. ..They do look neat though and often enough thats all the justification needed.

Like most things in life, Free Floating is just one aspect that affects accuracy.

Here is my $0.02 for what it is worth:

Accuracy is achieved by incorporating the following into any firearm.

1. The barrel must be a heavy enough profile to resist "Whipping". All barrels "Whip" to an extent. The heavier the profile, the less the "Whip". Fluting will help with rigidity, and dissipating heat.

2. Free Floating simply insulates a barrel from being acted upon by external forces. A cold-bore shot from a free floated barrel will be just as accurate as it is from a "normal" barrel, simply because the barrel is cold, and most resistant to "Whip" and heat.

3. Blue-Printing. All of the parts that comprise a rifle, being correctly fitted together, with square and true mating surfaces. As the rifle heats up, there is little or no "heat warping" since all of the mating surfaces are square and true. Duh.

4. The rifle needs to "fit" the shooter. Length of pull, cheek weld, focal distance to rear sight, and everything else that you want to mention right down to balance and grip size all contribute to a 10 shot group at 500 meters all perforating a heart sized target, vs. a 12" group.

Again, this is just my set of beliefs. But, I can back this up with an AR, and AK, an SKS, a Mauser, an Enfield, a Springfield, a 1917, and any Remington 700 or Savage 10 / 110. I can not say this about a Mosin, since I have never built one with my own little hands, but I am certain that these rifles share the same set of physics that the rest do.

It will be more noticable with a pencil barrel profile, but slinging up tight into an ar15 can change the point of impact quite a bit even if the barrel is properly set up.

A CMP or high power shooter using a leather sling on a AR 15 type rifle can put enough windage on a standard barrel (A2) from sling pressure alone to move the strike of the round out of the 10 ring at 100 yards.. easy let alone at 600 yards.. A free float tube is dam near mandatory in High power shooting if you want to win or shoot well.. As far as accuracy goes it is quality of the barrel that makes the most difference to accuracy (along with solid lock up) and a quality projectile (bullet) B2B